A Slightly Painful Anniversary
by Before the Sun Sets
Summary: For their three month anniversary, Angel surprises Collins with a little trip outside NYC. AngelCollins pointless fluff.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own, I RENT

**Summary:** For their three month anniversary, Angel surprises Collins with a little trip outside NYC. AngelCollins pointless fluff.

**A/N:** Okay, this idea came over me while I was at my riding lesson earlier today. The name is a little misleading, but rest assured, it's pure fluff. So… yeah. R&R.

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"HONEY! WAKE UP!!"

Collins let out an "oof" as a body crashed into his at high speeds, pushing him down into the mattress of their double bed. He opened his eyes to find Angel's face about an inch from his own, chocolate brown eyes brimming with excitement.

It took his sleep-bogged mind about three seconds to remember, and then he threw his arms around her and pulled her in for a passionate kiss. When they came up for air, he smiled widely and murmured, "Happy Anniversary, Angelcake."

She squealed, "You remembered!" and kissed him again. After a moment, however, she pulled back and wrinkled her nose, "Honey, you've got some serious morning breath."

The professor chuckled and sat up, Angel sliding down onto his lap. She jumped up and twirled around, showing off her new clothes she'd saved for today. Her knee length skirt was deep purple with intricate silver swirling patterns going every which way, black tights underneath, topped by a shimmering silver blouse and some spiral earrings. Her normal black bob wig was in her hair, now with a neat little clip to make it look nicer.

"You look beautiful…" Collins breathed, dazzled by her beauty as he always was. Angel giggled and poked his nose teasingly and skipped out of the room, perfectly balanced in her high-heels, which matched perfectly with her outfit, as always.

"Get cleaned up quick, hon, I made breakfast!" Collins pulled on some pants and hurriedly headed for the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, a cleaner-looking Collins came into the kitchen, dressed in a slightly nicer shirt than usual. He wasn't one to dress up that much, but Angel didn't mind. She loved everything about him, especially his little quirks.

Angel plunked two plates with bacon, eggs, and hash browns on the table, then poured two glasses of orange juice. Collins came up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. "This looks delicious, baby."

His lover giggled and turned around in his arms, kissing him deeply. "Mmm… much better without the morning breath," she murmured against his lips.

Collins tried to put on an offended face, but couldn't stop grinning. So he just settled for plopping down at the table and digging into the delicious breakfast Angel had made. The drag queen did the same. A

After their meal was over, and they'd both taken their AZT when their beepers went off, they brought out the presents. First Angel handed Collins his present, a neatly wrapped rectangular package. He tore off the wrapping paper, tossing it absently into the trash can, and smiled widely as several murder mystery books appeared.

"Do you like it?" Angel asked anxiously. She'd seen Collins reading a lot of mysteries by this author before, so she guessed it was one of his favorite authors.

The professor leaned across the small table and kissed her. "I love it. I've been wanting to get some new books." Then, Collins handed a small, messily wrapped box to Angel, who quickly tore off the wrapping paper, balled it up, and did an imitation hook shot into the trash can in the corner.

"Two points!" she cheered, then eagerly turned back to the box and opened it excitedly. Her eyes widened, shining with amazement and joy. "Oh, Collins…"

She reached in and carefully plucked out a gold chain, drawing it out slowly. On the end dangled a sparkling pendant; the word "Angel", written in small diamonds, with a small halo around the 'A' made of gold.

"Oh, Collins…" she murmured again, "It's beautiful…" She immediately started to put it on, but her hands were trembling too badly and her fingers kept slipping off the clasp.

Collins got up and came over to her, gently taking the necklace from her fingers and putting it around her neck gently. The gold didn't match the silver of her blouse, but Angel couldn't care less. She spun around and threw her arms around Collins, kissing him fiercely and passionately. They didn't stop until Angel's back was pressed against the wall, and her hands were exploring under Collins's shirt.

"Don't you think we ought to save that for tonight?" she murmured the question into his lips, and he reluctantly drew back, giving her a moment to straighten her clothes and wig again.

"So what are we going to do until then?" he asked, smiling slightly in anticipation.

Angel smiled widely and pointed to the newspaper on the counter. "I was reading that earlier and saw this neato ad for a stable giving free trail rides today cuz it's their grand opening. The place is only an hour away; let's go riding!"

Collins looked a little apprehensive, but he nodded and smiled. "Sure, I'll give it a shot."

An hour on the bus later, Angel tugged Collins hand enthusiastically, pointing to a nearby field. "Look, honey! Isn't it pretty!"

Collins looked over at it and nodded vaguely, "Mm-hmm…" The more he looked at it, the more unsure he was about this. But if Angel really wanted to, he'd do it. The aforementioned drag queen pulled her unresisting boyfriend down the path to the stable.

Half an hour later, after a short tutorial on how to ride, Collins found himself seated atop a huge… what had they called it? Gelding? Eh, whatever. He'd opted for the type of saddle that had a big lump in the front so he could hold on to it in case he started to fall or something. Angel had opted for the smoother, more graceful-looking saddle with no lump. She was perched atop a small, graceful, perky-looking mare looking entirely natural.

They headed out, their guide up ahead, and Angel and Collins side by side. Though she was having no trouble at all staying on, Collins kept tipping from one side to the other, like he was constantly about to fall off.

"Tom, honey, relax." Angel said, placing a hand on Collins' leg. Her body moved along with the horse's motion, balancing easily. The professor nodded and tried to loosed up a little, though he still looked a little uncomfortable.

Just as he was getting the hang of it, their guide called back, "Well, we're gonna skip the trot and try a canter now." He kicked his horse forwards, and Angel mimicked his movements and sent her mare thundering off down the path, the drag queen's excited shouts echoing back after her.

Collins, however, couldn't get his horse to go faster than the slow plodding it was doing now, no matter how much he kicked it. "Dammit, stupid horse! GO!!" he yelled, digging his heels in hard.

The gelding's ears suddenly pinned down against its head, and it took off at a gallop, bucking and kicking. Collins shouted a few choice words, clinging to the saddle for dear life. All he got for his trouble was the horn on the saddle getting slammed into the area between his legs with great force.

His eyes crossed and he let out a moan of pain. His horse, sensing he'd given up, slowed to a bouncy trot. Collins just slid off to one side, thudding into the ground, twitching and moaning.

Up ahead, Angel looked back and gasped, "Collins!" Her horse shied away from something in the woods, dumping the drag queen on the ground on her rear. "Ow…" she muttered, getting up slowly.

She grabbed her horse and swung up into the saddle again, ignoring her bruised butt, and cantered back to Collins. Practically diving off the horse's back, she landed on her knees beside Collins in the dirt and helped him slowly into a sitting position. "You okay, honey?"

The professor panted for a moment, trying to focus on her with his still-crossed eyes. All he managed to do was choke out a strangely high-pitched word, "Oowwhh…"

Angel put her arms around Collins' shoulders and hugged him close. "Aw, hon, I'm sorry." He muttered something unintelligible into her chest and leaned slightly on her, letting the pain fade slowly.

After five minutes or so, their guide returned looking rather sheepish. "I guess we weren't ready for that, huh?" Collins looked up at him with a 'duh, dumbass' look on his face, then got up slowly, helped by Angel.

"Do you wanna go back?" Angel asked Collins, kissing his cheek comfortingly.

Collins shook his head, smiling weakly. "I'm okay, we can keep going." He kissed Angel gently, breaking apart soon enough so as not to make their guide uncomfortable, and painstakingly remounted his horse, sitting further back in the saddle.

The rest of the ride passed with no mishaps, and they were back in their apartment in time for dinner. While they were munching on their pizza (a favorite of both), Angel looked over at Collins, "You feeling better?"

He nodded, his mouth too full of pizza to say anything. Once he'd swallowed, he elaborated, "It was fun, actually. After the whole… getting hit thing." Angel giggled and agreed.

The pizza finished, Collins took Angel in his arms and kissed her passionately, murmuring into her lips, "Shall we start back where we left off this morning?"

She giggled. "Are you sure you're not too bruised?"

The professor shook his head, giving a wicked smile. "I'll never be too bruised for that." And they ran off to the bedroom.

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_This turned out a lot longer than I thought… probably because of all the unplanned Collins/Angel fluff at the beginning. Ah well… review?_


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